Is ALU Gear what I think it is? A Luxilon ALU knock off that may play nearly as well but have a longer life than the real thing?

Also, I was wondering if anybody can suggest any Mamba strings that I may enjoy. I'm sampling many strings in the 1.20mm range. I'm a long time Kirschbaum Competition user so I like my poly to be in the middle range of stiffness. Softer than a Pro Hurrican Tour 17 but stiffer than Topspin CyberFlash 16 for your reference.

I'd like a low powered string that can give good spin. I string my Yonex RDS001 Mid in the low 60's(usually 63/62) and I string my PS85(not 6.0) at 57lbs also with Competition 1.20mm so I like a firm string bed that'll give that thump on contact.

The other strings I'm trialling are Gamma Zo Black Ice 18, Tecnifibre Black Code 18, Solinco Tour Bite 18(yeah it seems softer but I need to see what all the hype is about) and Kirschbaum Pro Line II 1.20mm.

I am new to stringing, but I had no problems stringing Supra. I didn't like the few places where it was thinner (made me nervous) but overall I like it so far. I am currently using the 16 G full bed but may try the 17 G and see if it's closer to a usual 17 G.

I've got a set of GO 4 GOLD as a courtesy from Mamba.
First of all I'd like to express my gratitude for that.
Now, about the performance;
Strung at 48 these strings felt dead and stiff as no other. I played over the years with many different polys, but this one has in my opinion nothing interesting to comment on.

Ordered some discho microfibre from mamba. Technically I ordered 2 sets but there were 3 in there which was a nice surprise. People have spoken of the great customer service and I guess you can count me as one who has received a good first impression upon opening my first delivery from them.

I haven't used a microfibre before and I just strung up my first multi the other day and do not like it so I am doubting this will impress me but being a poly guy and being a fan of black widow and polyfibre hexablade I plan to try some of mamba's offerings that are similar.

Discho Microfibre is my favorite multi to date! Decided to try it based on Mikeler's review and I am very satisfied. It's safe to say I've ended my string search. It has a very unique solid feel and I have the confidence to swing out on my groundstrokes. I tried other multis (x-1, nxt, addiction, sensation) and they seemed to fray and break within 10-15 hours for me.

I used to play with a poly/gut hybrid and loved the feeling at net and on groundstrokes.....BUT the poly did not agree with my arm. It could have been the 9.8 ounce strung frame and 69 stiffness rating that caused the problem with the poly, but I'm happy to have moved on to a more flexible racquet (Blade Team) paired with Microfibre!! No arm issues whatsoever and terrific playability

Discho Microfibre is my favorite multi to date! Decided to try it based on Mikeler's review and I am very satisfied. It's safe to say I've ended my string search. It has a very unique solid feel and I have the confidence to swing out on my groundstrokes. I tried other multis (x-1, nxt, addiction, sensation) and they seemed to fray and break within 10-15 hours for me.

I used to play with a poly/gut hybrid and loved the feeling at net and on groundstrokes.....BUT the poly did not agree with my arm. It could have been the 9.8 ounce strung frame and 69 stiffness rating that caused the problem with the poly, but I'm happy to have moved on to a more flexible racquet (Blade Team) paired with Microfibre!! No arm issues whatsoever and terrific playability

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Except for 1 shank at the very top of my frame, I've never broken the Microfibre. It frays and frays and frays and frays and frays and frays. Eventually it becomes too visually unappealing for my OCD and I have to cut it out and start over.

If you settle on a string and order the reels (if they are available) what method do you guys use to measure out the amount of string you need from the reel quickly?

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I had my wife measure the distance of my arms spread out. Since I have short arms, 4 spans for me measures 21'. So I need 20' for the mains in my racket, I do 4 arm spans minus the distance from my hand to my elbow. For the crosses where I need 19', I do 4 arm spans minus the distance from my hand to my shoulder.

The above can be tweeked once you get real familiar with certain racquets, but in general this gives good ball park estimate for many racquets.
Yes you get a larger OS size racquet with a stiff poly that does not stretch much, just pull out a few more inches is all.

I measured 20 feet down the hall of my apartment and then pull out the tip of the string, secure it at one end and then pull the reel to the marker and im done.

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This is similar to what I have done when measuring before. I had a tile on the floor that I had measured to in the past at 20 feet from the wall.

Lately to cut individual packs I have just put the string around the arm on my stringer and put the ends together and pulled to find the middle and then would give one side about 6 inches more and use it for the mains. I was just curious if anyone had any clever ideas for dealing with reels.

I had my wife measure the distance of my arms spread out. Since I have short arms, 4 spans for me measures 21'. So I need 20' for the mains in my racket, I do 4 arm spans minus the distance from my hand to my elbow. For the crosses where I need 19', I do 4 arm spans minus the distance from my hand to my shoulder.

Have been playing with the Iontec Hexa 1.20 for the last month on my 4d 300 tour frame with added weight in the handle to make it 343g static, 320 SW and 7pts HL. Initial tension was 48/46 on lockout machine and I got about 16+ hours of playing time so far (its still playing decently). In fact I enjoyed it more as my ball tend to land deeper however I get less control and spin, still playable though.

When fresh, it felt crisp with tons of feel and control. I felt tension starts to drop after 8hr mark. Anyone can comment on how much tension does the Ith loss with time, perhaps ERT measurement? 15-20%? I have a tournament coming up and need to re-string my other frame with the Ith but unsure at which tension. Thinking of dropping it by 10% to 44/42.

Anyone have a tension recommendation for a youtek speed 16 x 19? I will be using iontec hexa 1.25. I like it at 46 in a 300 tour, which has a closed pattern, and a smaller head. Some help will be appreciated.

Anyone have a tension recommendation for a youtek speed 16 x 19? I will be using iontec hexa 1.25. I like it at 46 in a 300 tour, which has a closed pattern, and a smaller head. Some help will be appreciated.

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35-37 it will play better as you use it. I use same racquet. Try it you won't regret it.

has anyone played with both iontec black 1.25 full bed and iontec black 1.20 full bed? i've tried the 1.25 full bed in my exo3 rebel 95 2012 and liked it more than i thought i would, undecided on whether or not to try the 1.20 next or just get more 1.25

I have been using the Multifibre 17g. in a Pure Storm Gt at 57 lbs.. I have ordered some of the premium 16 g. gut from Mamba. Can anyone give me feedback on what differences to expect and what tension to start with? I also want to try the gut in the main with Iontec 1.20 in the cross. Has anyone found that combination harsh on the arm? Thanks all for any feedback.

still a big fan of Iontec 17, but i've been experimenting with Spin Monster 17 in my Head TT Rad OS and have been enjoying it quite a bit. for a textured/shaped string, it's really good. my biggest complaint about textured/shaped strings is the reduced feel of the string bed. Spin Monster retains the feel and does enhance the spin production all the while delivering very good control. like a typical poly, it's fairly low powered and lasts me about 6-8 hours depending on the string pattern. i prefer lower powered poly strings as they really allow me to hit out without hitting long.

although i'm a big fan of Iontec 1.25 because it works so well for me in the PS85 and BC20 (frames that are at opposite ends of the spectrum), i found that it doesn't mate well w/ the Head PT280. the excellent feedback and feel that i get in the other racquets is muted and dull in the PT280. could be due to the tighter string pattern. anyways, just thought i'd share my findings.

A customer brought me a set of Mamba Premium Natural Gut to put into his racquets. I tried to post a review on the Mamba website where the review count is frozen at 7 (all positive) but it looks like the Mamba folks are only interested in positive reviews. So I will post my thoughts here.

Mamba Premium strings up like black licorice lace. It has a gummy surface that is easily chewed up by the cross strings and by the grommets. It gets chewed up by the grommets because it is not gauged properly. This set was marked 16 ga which would normally be about 1.30mm. I checked the string at several points with a digital micrometer. It ranged from 1.42 to 1.54. So, frankly I would recommend buying the black licorice instead, the gauging will be more consistent. The durability and playability should be about the same.

I would recommend to any other professional stringers out there that when someone brings you a set of Mamba Premium, in anticipation of the trouble you will have getting it through the grommet holes and surviving routine weaving and tensioning that you charge a premium for the service. I think if people realize that cheap gut is going to end up costing more than expensive gut (heck, if having to call up customer service for replacement sets isn't enough to discourage them) maybe they will stop being penny-wise and pound foolish.

Save your money and buy quality.

Edit: Quality natural gut is a highly refined product and people will look at in disbelief that it is made from animal intestines. It is often as crystal clear as nylon and as smooth in texture as any synthetic. Mamba gut is noticeably lacking in refinement. It is a gooey disintegrated mess. It is very evident that it is animal in origin. And it is the worst string anyone has ever asked me to put in a racquet.

A customer brought me a set of Mamba Premium Natural Gut to put into his racquets. I tried to post a review on the Mamba website where the review count is frozen at 7 (all positive) but it looks like the Mamba folks are only interested in positive reviews. So I will post my thoughts here.

Mamba Premium strings up like black licorice lace. It has a gummy surface that is easily chewed up by the cross strings and by the grommets. It gets chewed up by the grommets because it is not gauged properly. This set was marked 16 ga which would normally be about 1.30mm. I checked the string at several points with a digital micrometer. It ranged from 1.42 to 1.54. So, frankly I would recommend buying the black licorice instead, the gauging will be more consistent. The durability and playability should be about the same.

I would recommend to any other professional stringers out there that when someone brings you a set of Mamba Premium, in anticipation of the trouble you will have getting it through the grommet holes and surviving routine weaving and tensioning that you charge a premium for the service. I think if people realize that cheap gut is going to end up costing more than expensive gut (heck, if having to call up customer service for replacement sets isn't enough to discourage them) maybe they will stop being penny-wise and pound foolish.

Save your money and buy quality.

Edit: Quality natural gut is a highly refined product and people will look at in disbelief that it is made from animal intestines. It is often as crystal clear as nylon and as smooth in texture as any synthetic. Mamba gut is noticeably lacking in refinement. It is a gooey disintegrated mess. It is very evident that it is animal in origin. And it is the worst string anyone has ever asked me to put in a racquet.

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This has been pretty much the same experience I've had with the Mamba Premium Natural Gut. In short, they're too thick to get thru the grommet holes and when I tried to pull the first cross, the string snapped due to too much friction. Thus I've never even got to try the string on the court.

I have been playing with their Supra Natural Gut and it's great. I have the 16g but it does seem closer to 15 than 16. Too bad SNG has been out of stock for a very long time. Not sure if they will ever restock the SNG.

A customer brought me a set of Mamba Premium Natural Gut to put into his racquets. I tried to post a review on the Mamba website where the review count is frozen at 7 (all positive) but it looks like the Mamba folks are only interested in positive reviews. So I will post my thoughts here.

Mamba Premium strings up like black licorice lace. It has a gummy surface that is easily chewed up by the cross strings and by the grommets. It gets chewed up by the grommets because it is not gauged properly. This set was marked 16 ga which would normally be about 1.30mm. I checked the string at several points with a digital micrometer. It ranged from 1.42 to 1.54. So, frankly I would recommend buying the black licorice instead, the gauging will be more consistent. The durability and playability should be about the same.

I would recommend to any other professional stringers out there that when someone brings you a set of Mamba Premium, in anticipation of the trouble you will have getting it through the grommet holes and surviving routine weaving and tensioning that you charge a premium for the service. I think if people realize that cheap gut is going to end up costing more than expensive gut (heck, if having to call up customer service for replacement sets isn't enough to discourage them) maybe they will stop being penny-wise and pound foolish.

Save your money and buy quality.

Edit: Quality natural gut is a highly refined product and people will look at in disbelief that it is made from animal intestines. It is often as crystal clear as nylon and as smooth in texture as any synthetic. Mamba gut is noticeably lacking in refinement. It is a gooey disintegrated mess. It is very evident that it is animal in origin. And it is the worst string anyone has ever asked me to put in a racquet.

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I'm currently using the Mamba stuff, once my stock runs out, I'm switching over to the big boys brands.

While your observations are legit and when it happens, it is very annoying. However, this doesn't happen often. In my stock, I'd say about 1/10 (half sets) have these glaring imperfections.

That said, for the price and the fact that it plays beautifully in my opinion, I'm not complaining. If these were priced like the big boys brands, then hell yeah I would complain. But for ~half the price, not going to complain.

has anyone played with both iontec black 1.25 full bed and iontec black 1.20 full bed? i've tried the 1.25 full bed in my exo3 rebel 95 2012 and liked it more than i thought i would, undecided on whether or not to try the 1.20 next or just get more 1.25

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I tried the 1.20 @50 (dropweight) in my Biomimetic 200. I found it to be very soft and lacking a feeling of control or spin. A big plus is how easily it was to string up. I did an UKRSA ATW one piece pattern. I would go 3 lbs. higher if I tried it again. If you're happy with the 1.25, I'd recommend sticking with that.